CALLS have been made for Pendle Council to declare a climate emergency and work to become carbon-neutral by 2030.

Liberal Democrat councillor Tony Greaves is calling on Pendle Council to declare a climate emergency and set a programme aimed at “making Pendle Council and its arms-length bodies carbon-neutral by 2030, and for working for Pendle as a whole to be carbon neutral by 2030 or as soon as possible thereafter”.

Cllr Greaves has tabled a motion for the full council meeting on Thursday on behalf of the Liberal group on the council.

It states that: “Pendle Borough Council recognises that the world is in the midst of a climate and environmental emergency and that action is required at all levels of Government – local, national and international – in order to protect our planet for future generations of life in all its forms and for human society as we know it.”

Cllr Greaves said: “No-one thinks that Pendle on its own can successfully tackle this huge global crisis. But we can take a lead and do our bit.

“There are councils all over the country setting out to get a grip on this crisis in their own communities. We want to learn together, work together and make progress together with all these other councils.

“The Government have declared a climate emergency for the country as a whole. We want to take the lead together with local bodies and businesses of all kinds to do what we can in Pendle to help prevent a catastrophe for our children and grandchildren.”

Cllr Greaves added that he wants the council to start in a small way to look at its own operations for some “quick wins” this year, and to work together to produce a much bigger plan of action within about six months time.

He said: “It will be crucial to involve the whole community in all our towns and villages. We need to bring people together and involve them in providing ideas and action, provide a lot more information on what is happening and what can be done about it, and take a lead in making the changes that will be needed.

“At the same time Pendle Council’s resources are ever more limited and we want to learn from the ideas and actions of other councils throughout the land, and work closely with them.”